Conquering the Tides of War
by Silvershadow426
Summary: Flippy and Flaky have been best friends ever since they were kids, but when Flippy is forced to enlist into the Weaponized Animal Regiment their friendship may end up taking a turn for the worse with the deadly arrival of Fliqpy. Features Human HTF.
1. Don't Say Goodbye

**Don't Say Good-Bye**

"Come on, Flippy!" the redheaded girl called down from a branch. "The view up here is amazing!" A young boy with green hair stood on the ground, staring up at her with wide emerald eyes. Worry flashed within them.

"Flaky!" he called up nervously. "Come down from there! You could get hurt!" Flaky just rolled her eyes and continued to climb higher up the tree. Flippy whimpered slightly and continued to watch his best friend since birth climb up the tree, but the only thing he could think about was that her life could be at stake. He looked around nervously, hoping neither of their parents would pass by and see what Flaky was up too.

_We'd both be in big trouble if they saw us._

A scream interrupted his thoughts and he looked up to make sure Flaky was okay. Relief rushed through him as he saw her smiling, and he realized that it had been just an excited shriek. When he saw the look on her face, a feeling crept up inside him, a feeling that he often got when he was around the redhead. He loved her smile, her adventurous personality, and he'd do anything to see her happy.

"F-Flippy?" Flaky stammered from a branch. "Flippy! Something's coming!" Flippy looked up at the sky and, far in the distance, were planes. Unfortunately, he recognized them as bombing planes, and they were heading right for Happy Tree Town.

"Flaky!" he shouted. "Get down from there! The planes are back again!" Flaky looked quickly at the planes, and then started jumping back down the tree as quickly as possible. Suddenly, the earth shook slightly from a bomb that had fallen from one of the planes. Flippy was able to steady himself, but Flaky had lost her balance on one of the branches. As she screamed, plummeting to the ground, Flippy spread out his arms and caught her. She didn't have time to thank him, however, as they saw that the planes were coming closer and closer to the town.

"Come on!" Flippy grabbed Flaky's hand and led her back to his house. All over the town, people were screaming and running to get into their bomb shelters. Gripping her hand tightly so they didn't get separated, Flippy and Flaky ran through the streets as the sound of the planes became louder and louder.

_We're running out of time! _Flippy thought to himself. _Don't worry, Flaky. I'll get you home safely. _As they rounded a bend and approached a house with a white picket fence, a crowd of people ran between Flippy and Flaky. Separated by a stampeding crowd, Flippy couldn't see his friend anywhere. "Flaky!" he called out. "Flaky, can you hear me?" He'd be surprised if Flaky could hear his small voice over the sound of people, planes, and bombs.

Flippy stood there, calling out Flaky's name as loud as he could. His house was right behind him, but he wasn't going inside without his best friend. Finally, the crowd passed and he saw Flaky on the other side, lying still on the concrete sidewalk. He quickly rushed over to her; the sound of the planes was getting louder and the dropping of bombs increased. He gasped when he saw some blood on her head, but picked her up in his arms and ran toward his house. Jumping the fence in a single bound, he ran into his backyard where his mother was waiting for him in the bomb shelter. He felt the earth below him shake as bombs dropped and exploded around him, but he kept running with Flaky still in his arms. He dived through the door of the bomb shelter and landed on the bed. As his mom closed the small door, an explosion was heard right outside.

Flippy woke up after what felt like hours later with Flaky still in his arms. He blushed slightly, knowing his mother was there, but decided to ignore her. He sat up and gently nudged Flaky. She opened her eyes and stared at Flippy with terrified brown orbs.

"Wh-what happened?" she asked, still shaken from what had happened earlier. "The last thing I remember was being separated from you. The crowd of people pushed me back until I fell and hit my head on the sidewalk." An explosion was heard outside, shaking the shelter. Flaky flinched and dug herself deeper into Flippy's side. He stared down at her in amazement.

_I've never seen her this scared before. It's almost… Painful to see her like this. _Stroking Flaky's hair, Flippy explained everything that had happened while she had been unconscious. Flaky stared at him with admiration as she listened to how brave he had been while saving her life.

"Thank you, Flippy," she said sweetly. "I think that's the bravest thing I've ever heard." The boy blushed and turned his head away. Seeing this, his mother changed the subject.

"I can't believe those stupid planes are bombing Happy Tree Town again. What did we ever do?" Flippy just looked at his mother before he spoke up.

"This war has been going on for two years now," he pointed out. "I think General Tiger has gotten to the point of bombing anywhere he wants." Flaky squeezed his hand as he mentioned this.

"Well, he's putting innocent lives at jeopardy," his mother muttered.

"It's war," Flippy continued. "They don't care who gets in the way. Especially General Tiger."

About an hour later, the noises outside had stopped. Timidly, Flippy's mother opened the shelter door and stared around to make sure everything was safe. When she saw that it was, she went out into the yard with Flippy and Flaky following. The planes had done massive damage to the town, almost completely destroying all of the buildings. Flippy whimpered a bit, reverting back to his nervous self, when he saw two figures walk towards them.

One of the men was dressed in a green suit that was littered with stars and ribbons. The other was wearing green camouflage and was carrying a gun, which made Flippy take a tiny step back. Flaky gently grabbed his hand to comfort him as the more professional looking one stepped forward to speak.

"My name is General Wolf. I saw what you did to help your friend. You had some true bravery. What is your name?" The man seemed kind enough, but Flippy couldn't help but stammer as he introduced himself. "Flippy, I am the leader of the Weaponized Animal Regiment. Do you know what that is?"

"Uh-uh." Flippy shook his head.

"We are the forces that are fighting against General Tiger's army. You see, we have learned that he is planning to do something terrible in the near future, but we're not quite sure what it is yet. All we know is that it'll be catastrophic. Unfortunately, we don't have nearly as many men as we should to be able to defeat him. My men are going from town to town to recruit new officers." He leaned down to look Flippy in the eye. "Would you like to join the Weaponized Animal Regiment?" Flippy's green eyes widened in horror.

"Absolutely not!" his mother and Flaky yelled at the same time. General Wolf was a bit taken aback by this, but he continued to keep his cool as he stared at Flippy's mother.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but we're desperate. I've noticed that there is no man of the house, and we need as many people as possible. Your son showed immense bravery while in a critical situation, and that's exactly the kind of person we need in this war."

"Flippy is only ten years old!" his mother yelled again. "You can't make a ten-year-old fight in a war!" The general raised his hand up calmly.

"Well, you see, he wouldn't actually be fighting in the war at this age. He would have training, and wouldn't go into battle until he was at least sixteen. The bottom line is that we need men to fight." Flippy's mother sighed and turned to look at her son.

"It's up to you, Flippy," she whispered, tears forming in her eyes. "They need you to fight with them. Do you want to?" Flippy looked down sadly, not sure how to respond to the question. Before he could say anything, though, Flaky spoke up.

"I will volunteer to fight in Flippy's place," she said boldly, not taking her eyes off of General Wolf. Flippy looked at Flaky with fear, hoping that she wasn't serious.

"Flaky, you can't! You could be killed!" he said worriedly. He wasn't ready to lose his best friend like that. Flaky turned to him, her hand still gripped tightly in his.

"Flippy," she whispered. "No offense, but you're not exactly brave all the time. You know I could survive better than you could." Tears were forming in her eyes, but she said it without having her voice shake. Flippy sighed, knowing she spoke the truth.

"All right," he finally said after a long pause. "I've made up my mind." Flaky tried to step forward to walk toward the general, but was pulled back by Flippy's hand. "I'm going."

Flaky gasped as he let go of her hand and stepped in front of her. General Wolf smiled slightly.

"You're making a good decision. You'll be able to defend all of the people you love." Flippy turned around to look at his mother and Flaky for the last time, and before he left gave them both a hug. As he hugged Flaky, her grip tightened around him, a sign that she didn't want him to leave.

"I'm sorry, Flaky," he whispered in her ear. "I'll be back, though. I promise." As they parted, the children took one last long look into the other's eyes, to make sure they remembered everything for years to come. But as Flippy turned around to follow General Wolf away from the house, some part of him wished that he would never remember the look on Flaky's face as he was leaving her.


	2. Operation: Tiger Bomb

**Operation: Tiger Bomb**

"General Wolf," a young boy started, "I have news to report." General Wolf looked up from his work, but quickly waved his hand to dismiss him.

"Not right now," he replied gruffly, staring down at his work again. "I'm still trying to figure out Tiger's plan, and I might be close." The boy, instead of leaving, stepped closer with a bold look on his face.

"But sir, that's just it. I know what his plan is." The General and everyone in the room looked up in shock, most of them with their mouths slightly open. After a brief pause, General Wolf straightened up, cleared his throat, and looked at the boy intently.

"Go on, then," he said, pride flowing through his voice. "After six years of trying to figure out what his plan is, one of my own men figures it out before I do. So what is it?" The boy took a small breath before announcing his discovery.

"Do you remember six years ago when you said that his plan would be catastrophic? I have just recently found out that his plan all along was to bomb the world, completely destroying everyone and everything." He didn't even finish his sentence before Wolf was on his feet, his eyes wide in shock and fear. He then started commanding his soldiers to get everyone assembled in the meeting hall; when everyone left the room, he turned to the boy.

"You don't know how much this advantage will help us," he said proudly. "How did you figure it out?" The boy blushed slightly, and Wolf immediately knew that he had broken a rule. He continued anyway.

"Sneaky, Boomer, and I left camp," he said nervously. "We went through the jungle and found Tiger's lair, so we decided to take a look around. Sneaky and I traveled through the vents and came to the main meeting room. There we found Tiger and his soldiers, and they started discussing their brilliant plan that they've been talking about for years. That's when we figured out his plan to bomb the world." After he finished his story, he looked up at the General with brave green eyes. "I understand that I broke the rule about leaving camp, and I am prepared to accept the punishment."

The General stood for a moment, but then he started laughing. The boy took this as a surprise for he expected that he would've gotten in trouble. After laughing for a bit, his put his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Yes, it is true that you broke the rule of sneaking out of camp. But you found out what Tiger's plan was when I've been trying to figure it out for years! Therefore, no punishment will be administered to you, Sneaky, or Boomer." He paused, thinking about something before continuing. "In fact, I want you to lead the attack against Tiger with Sneaky and Boomer." The boy's jaw dropped.

"R-really?" he asked in amazement. "But, I'm only a private. I can't lead an attack!" Wolf laughed again.

"Trust me, you can," he reassured. "In the six years you've been here, you've proven yourself and after that performance at Tiger's lair, I'd say that deserves some praise. Now, go join the others in the hall for the meeting." The boy saluted, then turned around to walk out of the General's office. "Oh, and by the way," he added. "I'm very proud of you, Flippy."

Flippy looked back at him with excited emerald eyes. "Thank you, sir," he said, and headed toward the meeting hall.

Wolf's men were gathered in the meeting hall, eagerly waiting for the General to announce what was going on. Flippy, Sneaky, and Boomer were seated in chairs on the stage; Flippy stared at Wolf, who was standing at a podium, with excitement flashing through his emerald eyes. He clenched the sides of the chair to keep himself from jumping out of his seat. General Wolf cleared his throat and the room went silent.

"Men," he began into the microphone, "I'm proud to say that we now know what Tiger and his soldiers are planning." The hall filled with muttering before quieting down again. Wolf continued.

"Thanks to these three boys," he motioned to the three best friends sitting behind him, "we have learned that the enemy is planning to bomb the world." The soldiers broke out into muttering again, but Wolf didn't wait for silence.

"I have decided that Privates Flippy, Sneaky, and Boomer will lead the attack on Tiger's lair to stop him from executing his plan." He smiled back at the three boys who stood and saluted him. Cheers were heard from below; Flippy looked at his best friends, the corners of their lips curved up in smiles.

The mid-afternoon sun beat down on the troops' heads as they made their way through the jungle toward General Tiger's lair. Flippy was leading the way with Sneaky and Boomer close behind. When they reached a hill, the party could see Tiger's entire encampment spread out over the clearing. Large buildings dotted the area with soldiers guarding each one. Near the back of the clearing was the biggest building, the building where Tiger was hiding. Flippy scanned the area before figuring out a plan, and soon turned around to address the soldiers behind him.

"Okay, here's the plan," he started. "Sneaky, Boomer, and I need to get to the farthest building, but we're going to sneak around to the other side of the jungle. I want the rest of you to fan out and surround the camp. Make sure no one escapes, and if someone tries to come close to where we are, get them away. We need to make sure no one comes to help Tiger." He looked around at the group, confident eyes glimmering. He nodded his head once and started walking toward the main building while everyone else began their descent down the hill to surround the camp.

Once the boys had backtracked through the jungle and sneaked to the back of the building, they sat in the foliage to scope out the outside of the building. There were only two guards: one guarding the main door and the other near the barbed wire fence that surrounded the building. Sneaky looked at his friend.

"What's the plan, Flippy?" he whispered. The boy only smiled, hinting that he had already had an idea from the beginning. He walked over to Boomer and opened the bag on his back. Explosives and bombs were crammed inside, and Flippy tried to make sure they didn't fall out as he dug around inside. When his hand reemerged, he held a pizza box. Sneaky and Boomer looked at him in amazement.

"What is a pizza box going to do for us?" Boomer exclaimed.

"Just wait," Flippy said mischievously. "You haven't heard the whole plan yet." When he opened the box they saw eight slices of pizza and one knife. "Sneaky, I want you to take out the guard that's by the fence. Boomer, you handle the one guarding the door. When it's clear, I'm going to go in with the pizza and throw the knife into Tiger's cold heart." His friends nodded, impressed with his plan. They crouched down and quietly crept forward. When they were on the edge of the tree line, Flippy took out his binoculars and looked into the room where Tiger and his men were standing. Focusing the lens, he saw Tiger holding a knife in his clawed hand while he was saying something to his soldiers. He then thrust the knife into a model globe and started laughing while his men saluted him.

_Okay, time to do this,_ Flippy thought to himself. Excitement started rushing into him as he realized that not only was this his first real battle, but he was leading it. Taking the binoculars away from his eyes, he signaled the attack without looking at Sneaky or Boomer. After raising two fingers and then straightening his fingers, Sneaky seemed to disappear into the trees and Boomer made his way through the foliage. Flippy raised his binoculars again to make sure the plan worked out perfectly; he smiled as he saw Sneaky snake the guard through the barbed wire and Boomer blow up the other with one of his many bombs. They both looked in Flippy's direction and signaled that it was all clear.

Adrenaline and the rush of excitement rushed through him as the boy grabbed the pizza box and ran toward the unguarded building. Reviewing the plan to himself, he smiled as he imagined the look on General Tiger's face when the knife flew through the air and pierced his heart.

_And I would have been the one to throw it,_ Flippy thought to himself. _I'll be a hero!_ When he finally approached the door, it slid open and he looked inside. Tiger and his men stared at him in wonder, but Tiger just rubbed his hands together and licked his lips. Flippy put on a fake smile, even though deep down he couldn't wait to throw the weapon.

"Hey, who ordered pizza?" Tiger asked with delight. Flippy tried to stifle a laugh as the soldiers smiled at the box in his hand. Were they really _that_ stupid that they didn't notice the green uniform on the boy's body? Flippy mentally shrugged and opened the pizza box, reaching for the knife. Suddenly losing his courage that he had trained so hard to gain, he realized that he just wanted to get it over with. When he grabbed the knife, he closed his eyes and threw it toward Tiger.

He opened his terrified green eyes when he didn't hear a scream, and gasped in horror when he realized that a slice of pizza had hit his enemy in the face. Looking back into the box in his left hand, he saw the knife still in its place.

"Dammit!" Flippy muttered to himself before looking into the angry eyes of enemy soldiers. The pizza slid down the general's face, and his one eye burned with hatred.

"He's one of Wolf's men! Get him!" he commanded. Flippy grabbed the knife, dropped the pizza box, and quickly ran out of the building with Tiger's soldiers quickly following.

"Maybe I can still save this plan," he muttered to himself. Keeping his pace, Flippy turned around and threw the knife, aiming for the men behind him. But instead it hit the wall next to them, and when it did, blood spurted from it. Flippy gasped in horror as Sneaky, his camouflage vanishing, suddenly appeared, gasping for breath.

"I got it, Flippy!" he heard Boomer yell as he ran past him. He had lit a fuse and threw the bomb into Tiger's meeting room. Flippy screeched to a stop and turned on his heel to run back and save Sneaky before the bomb exploded. He saw the soldiers poking at his friend, which infuriated him, but as they saw the bomb fly into the building they screamed in terror and ran off. When he got to the wall, he grabbed the knife and tried to pull it out of his friend.

"Crap! I'm sorry, Sneaky," he apologized. "You know I didn't mean to!" Sneaky gasped in pain before he responded.

"It's okay, Flippy. Just g-get this damn knife out of me!" As Flippy pulled with everything he had, his only thought was that Tiger would still die today.

Or so he thought. As quickly as the bomb had gone into the room it had mysteriously bounced back and into Boomer's hands. Realizing the fuse was still lit, he screamed and tried to throw the bomb away from himself and the others. But the cheese that coated it somehow stuck to his hands and wouldn't detach.

"Flippy, help!" Boomer exclaimed, running over to Flippy with the fuse getting shorter by the second. It was all chaos for Flippy: his plan had failed, Sneaky was slowly bleeding to death, and Boomer couldn't free the bomb from his hands.

_Damn. Tiger must've shielded himself with the pizza I left in there. _"Hold on, Boomer," Flippy said through gritted teeth. "I almost got it!" As soon as he finished his sentence, the knife was dislodged from the wall and Sneaky fell to the ground, gasping for breath. In the same swift movement, Flippy swung the knife around and sliced through the fuse, sending it flying into the air and away from the bomb. He picked up Sneaky and hauled him onto his shoulder before smiling at Boomer. But it quickly faded away when he saw his that his friend wasn't moving.

"Boomer?" he asked hesitantly. "Are you okay?" Boomer's upper half suddenly fell to the ground, leaving only his legs standing. Flippy closed his eyes for a brief second, hardly believing what had just happened. However, the top half of Boomer's bag had also been sliced in half. The bag opened, and out spilled dozens of bombs and explosives. Flippy looked up quickly only to see the still lit fuse come tumbling toward the earth and land on the exposed bombs.

The explosion was massive, sending dirt and smoke everywhere; miraculously, the building hadn't been damaged, but the explosion had sent Flippy, Sneaky, and Boomer a few hundred yards away from it. Flippy opened his eyes and rubbed his head in pain, wondering how being that close to an explosion hadn't killed him.

"We got lucky, didn't we Sneaky?" He looked down when he heard no response before cringing in horror. Before him lay the scattered remains of Boomer and the mangled body of Sneaky. Guilt and anger welled up inside him as he stared at his dead friends. "Did I do this?" he said to himself sadly.

"They couldn't have gotten too far!" Flippy looked up with fear as he heard the sound of Tiger's voice. "We must find them!" He shrieked in fear as he realized that Tiger and his men were coming closer with their jeeps.

"What do I do? What do I do?" Panic and terror had completely overwhelmed Flippy as all the battle training he had worked years for completely washed away from him. But when he looked down at Sneaky's body, an idea had come to him.

The jeeps slowly came to a stop as they saw Sneaky lying on the ground. The soldiers quickly got out of their vehicles and pointed their guns at the unmoving body. Tiger looked around the clearing.

"I know that damn Wolf soldier is here somewhere. Men, spread and search!" he commanded. However, poor Flippy was hiding somewhere they would never find him. He had managed to stuff himself inside of Sneaky's body before Tiger and his men had shown up.

The blood of his best friend covered him from head to toe, and worms had made their way inside, only to crawl over the young boy. What could he do? If he revealed himself, Tiger's men would surely kill him. But if he didn't, he would go through the rest of his life only thinking that he was a coward.

_But that was the whole reason why I joined the Weaponized Animal Regiment, _he thought to himself with contempt. _So I could learn how to be braver. So I could protect all the people I loved from Tiger's evil plan. _Suddenly, a voice seemed to enter his mind, but it didn't sound like his own and yet it did. As he sat there, clutching his legs to his chest, he let the voice pound in his ears.

_First, they'll kill you, _it said convincingly. It had a deep growl to it, and Flippy whimpered as he pictured Tiger's men shooting him until he was nothing. He closed his eyes and started to hyperventilate, but the voice continued.

_Then, they'll kill your family and friends. _He squeezed his legs tighter as he saw his mother dying at his feet, followed by others: Cuddles, Giggles, Petunia, and Handy. His breathing slowed down and started to get deeper.

_And finally, they'll slowly and painfully kill Flaky. _Flippy's breathing had now become a low growl; he snapped open his eyes as childhood memories flashed through his mind. Baring his teeth, he sat up and grabbed Sneaky's ribcage and femur. When Sneaky's body moved, he could hear Tiger outside.

"What's going on? I thought he was dead?" His men aimed their guns and Tiger glared at the moving body. Flippy suddenly burst through the top of Sneaky's head, roaring in rage and clutching the bones in his hands. The soldiers stared at him in fear, terrified at the being that had appeared. His pupils were dilated, and his emerald green eyes had become a piercing golden yellow. As he laughed maniacally they saw his teeth, which had become pointed and uneven. The men lifted their guns, but were too late as this new being lunged for them.


	3. The Battle and a Funeral

**The Battle and a Funeral**

The transformed boy lunged for the soldiers before they had time to shoot. His fight-or-flight response had kicked in and right now, he chose fight. Swinging the femur, he hit the soldier closest to him in the jaw, sending teeth flying into the air. In the same moment, the ribcage sliced through his torso, and out spilled a colorful arrangement of intestines. As the soldier fell to the ground dead, the boy grabbed the spilled stomach and caught the teeth in it. He took a deep breath and blew into it like a bagpipe, sending teeth flying toward the other soldiers. The speed had enough force to shoot the teeth through the men's skulls and out the other side, killing all of them instantly. Tiger growled and lunged for his enemy.

"Enough of this!" he shouted in anger. Using his clawed hand, he cut the stomach in half, leaving it useless. Flippy, golden eyes reflecting a pool of hatred, raised his fist to punch Tiger. But he wasn't quick enough. Pain shot through his body as Tiger plunged a knife deep into his torso. He let out a deep snicker, thinking that he had won, but his smile quickly disappeared as the injured boy aimed a fist toward his cheek. A second punch knocked out some teeth and gave Tiger a bloody nose. Before he could even think about what was going on, a third and final punch sent him careening into a tree. As Tiger, his fighting spirit still alive, tried to stand up, Flippy was suddenly behind him. As he held the knife to his body with his right hand, he pushed his left arm into his enemy's throat and pushed with all his might.

"Too easy," Flippy laughed to himself as Tiger was slowly suffocating to death. However, Tiger suddenly raised his clawed hand and sliced through Flippy's wrists. He shrieked in pain, and backed away from the tree. The now free Tiger fell on his hands and knees and tried to regain his breath while the boy was on his knees, screaming in pain. He looked at the exposed bones and the blood that dripped to the ground and only thought one word: die.

His pained expression quickly faded into a look of pure hatred and bloodlust as he turned away from his arms and glared at his enemy. Tiger grabbed the knife that had fallen out of the boy's body and was poised to strike, but Flippy, fueled by anger for this man that wanted to destroy the world, lashed at his torso before he could move. He thrust the pointed bones of his arms into Tiger's body then forcibly pulled them back out and to the side. He seemed to roar with fury as intestines spilled out and onto the ground, but before Flippy could do anything more Tiger dropped the knife and wrapped his intestine around Flippy's neck.

"This time," he said with a smile, "you _will_ die!" He pulled back as the organ strangled the young boy, but he wasn't going to give up easily. General Wolf's words from six years ago echoed in his mind as he growled at Tiger and leaped at him.

_You're making a good decision. You'll be able to defend all of the people you love. _

"If that means killing myself, then I will!" Tiger's smile vanished as Flippy pushed them both over the side of the cliff; the cold air that rushed past them made their eyes water, but Flippy aimed his blurred vision on a log that jutted out from the side of the rocky wall. Changing his position so that his feet were pointed toward the earth, he landed on the log just hard enough to take it with him and Tiger. Gravity was in his favor as Flippy's momentum made the log flip over to make Tiger hit the ground first. He clung to the wood for dear life and stared at Flippy with horror and fear as the victorious sixteen-year-old exposed his sharpened and uneven teeth in a maniacal laugh. With the intestine still wrapped around his throat, he smiled at Tiger as the ground quickly came up behind him.

"Have fun in hell," he almost whispered. In the next second, Tiger and the log collided with the hard ground; the log broke into thousands of pieces and Tiger's crushed body lay in a deep pool of his own blood. Flippy landed on one knee and smiled menacingly at the old general's mangled body. Using the exposed bone in his arms, Flippy skinned Tiger's face clean off his head and started to make the demanding climb back to his lair.

As the building came into view, Flippy spotted the old pizza box in the clearing. He opened it and put Tiger's face in it before walking through the metal door that had opened the path to a failed plan. The remaining soldiers stared at him in horror as he opened the pizza box to reveal their leader's skinned face. As he laughed evilly, the old Flippy inside blacked out as the monster outside brutally killed every last one of Tiger's soldiers. A creature had been born, and this creature's name was Fliqpy.

"Men, I'm pleased to say that General Tiger is dead and so is his plan to bomb the world," General Wolf announced to his soldiers. The meeting hall exploded in a chorus of cheers as the soldiers threw their hats into the air and hugged each other. Wolf smiled and waited for the celebration to quiet down before he continued with a nod of his head. "Yes, the war that we've been fighting for eight years is finally over and we can all go home to our families." More cheering echoed in the hall, but quickly stopped when they saw that their leader's face showed sadness. "Unfortunately, there will be two young soldiers who won't be going home. If all of you will follow me to the cemetery…" Wolf trailed off as he exited the meeting hall with his men following close behind.

Dark gray clouds floated through the sky and thunder rumbled in the distance as the soldiers sadly looked at the coffins that were being lowered into the ground. Hats were honorably placed over hearts, and the silence that hung in the air was broken only by the mourning sound of the bugle.

"Private Boomer and Private Sneaky were two very brave soldiers. They discovered General Tiger's plan in a day when it took me six years, and without them we never would've known what he had been planning." Soil was being poured into the holes. "It breaks my heart to have to see two eighteen-year-olds be put to rest knowing that they still had their whole lives ahead of them. Both of them were sons, brothers." He stopped and cast a glance at Flippy. "And friends, and they will always be remembered and honored in the Weaponized Animal Regiment."

After Wolf saluted to his men and they went back to their rooms to pack up, he turned to Flippy. He didn't speak or look at his commander; Wolf understood and didn't press him to do anything. Gently, he took Flippy's hand and placed two pairs of nametags in his palms.

"I think you should be the one to place their tags on the stones." He started to walk back to the camp, but Flippy's voice stopped him.

"It's my fault, you know," he choked out. "If I hadn't discovered Tiger's plan, if I hadn't tried to stop him, they'd both still be alive." His shoulders shook as tears started streaming down his cheeks. Wolf looked back at him.

"Flippy, you didn't know. None of us did, and if you hadn't done what you did Tiger may have destroyed the world by now. You were very brave." He paused before continuing. "You may stay as long as you want, and you have full permission to go back to your hometown. I know your mother and friends will be very happy to see you again." The General walked away to leave Flippy alone.

As if nature was feeling the boy's pain, rain cascaded from the sky and thunder gently rumbled overhead. His messy green hair was soon soaked, but he didn't care. Flippy sat on his knees between the two graves and looked at the nametags in his hands.

"No," he muttered to himself. "These aren't my hands…" He remembered when he was sitting in the doctor's office, the bones protruding out of his arms. They were covered with blood, and his only thought at the time was that he would never have hands again. The doctor came in and told him what had happened.

"As you might have guessed," he started, "the bomb, unfortunately, caused Sneaky and Boomer to explode into pieces." Flippy had cringed, but didn't tell the doctor that the only reason Sneaky had been torn to pieces was because he had burst out of him in a fit of rage. The doctor continued.

"Luckily, Sneaky's hands were retrievable. If you want to be able to have real hands again and not prosthetic ones, I can give you Sneaky's. It will be as if you had never lost yours." After sitting in silence to think about it, Flippy had finally agreed. But he now realized that having Sneaky's hands would only be a constant reminder to him every single day that it was his fault his best friends had died.

Placing their tags on the ground, he took his off and examined the pair that hung from the chain. He took both of them off and placed them to the side. He then took one tag from Boomer and one from Sneaky and put them on his chain. Finally, he took both of his tags and put one on each chain and hung them from the tombstones. He put his friends' tags around his neck and clung to them.

"I'm so sorry, Boomer. I'm so sorry, Sneaky. Please forgive me." The pounding rain hid his tears, and the rolling thunder silenced his cries to the heavens.


End file.
